Surgical critical care serves an important role in the hospital setting for surgeons and their surgical patients who are critically ill and/or injured. Many of these patients have an acute or imminent need for surgical intervention. In addition, patients who require surgery to treat one condition may also have another chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension or a history of massive bleeding. These patients require a hospital with a specialized ICU that ensures an advanced level of 24/7 observation before, during and after their procedure.
The advantage to a specialized unit—such as the Trauma/Medical ICU at Capital Health Regional Medical Center—is that a surgeon trained in acute care surgery is available at all times. These types of surgeons are known as surgical intensivists. Perioperative services are available to patients from across most medical fields, including urology, orthopedics, ENT (ear, nose and throat), plastics, general surgery, OB/GYN and maternal-fetal medicine, laparoscopic and bariatric surgery, surgical oncology, trauma, and endocrine surgery, just to name a few.